220 ANNUAL EEPOETS OF DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



CEREALS AND FLOUR. 



Department Bulletin 570, "The By-Proclucts of Rice Milling," 

 and Bulletin 634, " A Physical and Chemical Study of the Kafir Ker- 

 nel,*' have heen issued. Studies on the composition of grain sorghum 

 kernels, and on the milling and baking of flour from einkorn, emmer, 

 spelt, and Polish wheat have been published, and a manuscript en- 

 titled " The Composition of Wheat Flour Substitutes and the Breads 

 Made Therefrom," has been prepared for publication. A study of 

 flour, under way for some years, has shown that there is a definite 

 relation between the commercial grades of flour and the number of 

 offal particles present. The increased use of flour substitutes has 

 made their intensive study necessary for the purpose of preparing 

 definitions and standards for these increasingly important products. 



FOOD FLORA, SPOILAGE, AND FERMENTATION. 



The Microbiological Laboratory has been accumulating a large 

 number of living cultures of various strains of the organisms that 

 are to be found upon foodstuffs, and especially those that are con- 

 cerned wdth food spoilage. In this work the foundation is laid for 

 a better knowledge of the flora of foodstuffs and its relation to food 

 spoilage, the results of which will be compiled in a series of papers 

 dealing with groups of organisms. Such a paper has been issued 

 under the title '•''Aspergillus Fumigatus^ A. Nidulans^ A. Terreus^ N. 

 Sp., and Their Allies." Moreover, it has been learned that certain 

 species of Fusarium and one species of Aspergillus are concerned in 

 the destruction of the germinal area of the corn kernel, if the corn is 

 stored with a very slight excess of water. 



In studying food poisoning resulting from the growth of Bacillus 

 hotulinus, especially in its relation to canned foods, all known strains 

 of this organism were brought together for comparative study. It 

 appears that there is a series of closely related organisms capable of 

 producing cases of food poisoning approximating the clinical picture 

 of botulism. It will, therefore, be necessary to study a long series of 

 cases and isolate and compare the significant organisms before the 

 range of conditions under which these cases of serious poisoning are 

 liable to occur can be known. 



The results of the investigation of the organisms entering into the 

 spoilage of canned sardines have been made ready to print. Among 

 the observations made mav be mentioned that while the gills of fish 

 may contain the characteristic organism that produces spoilage, the 

 intestines, when they are free from food, are practically sterile. 

 Bacteriological studies have also been made of fish " slime " and of 

 the transmission of organisms after death through tlie gill openings 

 to the flesh of the fish. The protection afforded by the skin against 

 bacterial invasion is also being studied. 



The methods of judging frozen egg products have been analyzed 

 critically. It was found possible to correlate closely the results of 

 chemical and bacteriological examination with the appearance, the 

 physical properties, and the flavor of eggs, as determined in the egg- 

 breaking plant. This investigation shoulcl tend to clear up the diffi- 

 culties that have arisen in the examination of frozen eggs for regula- 

 tory purposes. Studies also have been made upon the bacteria in 

 storage eggs.. 



